The Gavel
by Captain Vulcan
Summary: Villians and evil-doers beware! There's a new super heroine in town and it's none other than the mighty hammer of justice hereself, The Gavel. Will criminals come to fear this new crime-fighter and her trusting sidekick, Moe Chan?


Man, it is pretty difficult to keep writing these things. I began writing a Tekken fanfic nearly five years ago but I couldn't force myself to finish it. Although 'They Call Her Asuka' received good reception (plus I already know how I'm going to end the said story) I find it nearly impossible to overcome writer's block. That's the basic premise of this story. I'm working on this 'side-quest' to (hopefully) overcome such an illness.

I know. Five years is a long time and I doubt that this fic could ever make up for it. I won't be surprised that readers would frown upon my reappearance in the fandom but it's all good. I'm not exactly seeking forgiveness. It feels like I let my friends down for 'abandoning' TCHA because writer's block is a mother-trucker.

Oh well... let's see if I still got it.

**DISCLAIMER: **Don't own the Tekken franchise. Tekken is the rightful property of Namco Bandai Games. You should know this by now.

**TEKKEN**

**THE GAVEL**

**PROLOGUE**

"Kazama Asuka", the schoolteacher placed the said student in the spotlight. "What key factors gave rise of the Tokugawa period?"

All eyes were on her. Again. After the events of The King of Iron Fist tournament, she haven't been herself. She was unable to find Feng Wei, the man she swore vengeance on for injuring her father. Jin Kazama, her older cousin, whom gained the Mishima Zaibatsu recently, shortly fell from grace as he grow more corrupted by the day. Her unexpected defeat by the hands (and feet, especially) by the Blood Talon, Hwoarang.

No wonder she was catching hell on her schoolwork. "I apologize, teacher." She replied with a sheepish giggle. "I'm afraid I wasn't paying any attention to details."

The history teacher smiled. At least Asuka was honest. "I understand, but you have to tighten up a bit." The teacher informed while straightening her glasses. "This is going to be on the final."

"Yes ma'am." Asuka responded accordingly, reminding herself to plan a cram session before the week out. She gazed across the classroom to her best friend, Hazuki. The straight-haired girl gave her reassuring thumbs up gesture.

The final school bell rang, which means, "Class dismissed. We shall continue this lecture tomorrow."

At that, the class rose of their desks, bowed thanks for the day's studies and that's that.

**TEKKEN**

"Hmm," Hazuki wondered. "At this rate, it looks like you're going to repeat senior year. Heck, I'm riding along with you on the same boat." She took out a notepad from her backpack. "I mean, c'mon. What's up with World History? I'm not that adept at studying this country's history. So why in the world am I cramming info about the American Revolution or the Renaissance Era of Europe for that matter?"

Hazuki was trippin'. As usual. At least the younger girl was carefree and in her right state of mind. Asuka, on the other hand, wasn't in hers. "Yea..." she drawled. "I guess you're right."

Consternation gathered on Hazuki's features. Her best friend's unease was starting to get on her last nerves. It's been months since the tournament and Asuka was still down in the dumps. That fact is even apparent in her grade point average. "So... don't you think that we got some cramming to do?"

Asuka gathered herself on the park bleachers and folded her arms around her legs. Right now she didn't give a damn that her midnight-blue lacy underwear was in plain view. "I'm okay. I can ace that final."

"Okay, in order to do that we're going to have to study together." Hazuki said with a big ass bead of sweat floating beside her head.

"Um-hmm..." Asuka replied lamely.

"An 'um-hmm'? That's all I'm getting from you?" The younger girl frowned. The basketball goal suddenly looked promising.

"Yeah," Came another flat response.

"Stop beating yourself up, Asuka," Hazuki pleaded.

"Yeah…"

"You're a trip, you know that?"

"I guess..."

"Ooh! Asuka!" Hazuki squealed in exasperation.

"Yes?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I'm fine."

"I don't swing that way but I guess you are," griped the younger girl, with a swing of her hips for emphasis. "That's what all the boys are saying."

"I guess..."

Hazuki's temperament was rising. "You know, while you're sitting like that everyone can see your panties. I know it's a short skirt but show a little decency."

"I suppose."

"Damn you got it bad."

"It looks that way."

"Will you stop that already, Asuka?"

"I guess..."

"Quit it, you jerk!"

Asuka didn't appreciate being called names,"I know you are but what am I?"

"That's it!" Hazuki shrieked as she hopped off the bleachers. She pointed an accusatory finger at her friend. "You know what? I don't know who you are anymore. The Asuka Kazama I know disappeared some time ago only to be replaced by... this punk ass girl I'm cussing out right now."

Asuka widened her eyes as if she's experiencing an epiphany. You know something's significant is going on if Hazuki's emotional. "H... Hazuki."

"You've became quite an emo lately," Hazuki told her best friend worriedly. "What's up? This isn't like you at all. Did they brainwash you guys during the tournament?"

"Hazuki... I... I'm..." Asuka gazed away from the younger girl warily. "I'm under a lot of stress." She revealed at last. "You do understand this, right?"

"I've kind of noticed that, but the way you're acting isn't your usual brand of handling stress." Hazuki stated matter-of-factly with a flip of her long dark hair. "Whatever happened to leaping off the Tsutenkaku Tower while riding on your bike?"

Her lips curved into a smile and she almost started laughing. Hazuki certainly knows how to lighten things up. "You got jokes. You're pretty persistent, Hazuki." Asuka admitted. "I appreciate your effort in cheering me up."

Hazuki crossed her arms. "What are friends for? We've known each other since elementary school. It's been well over a decade since we've met and I've never seen this side of you before."

Asuka bit her lower lip. "I know that. You're my best friend, Hazuki. What else is new?"

"Well, what gives then?" The younger girl demanded.

"You know what happened during the tournament?" Asuka focused her gaze away from her long-time friend. "If you know that then you can understand my mood."

Hazuki expressed her concerns. "Yeah, were you able to find the guy that attacked your family's dojo?"

The older girl replied with a nod of her head. "No. Feng-Wei's still at large."

"Man, that sucks," Hazuki stated nonchalantly. "On top of that, you've lost to that Hwoarang fella." A dreamy look suddenly etched on her face. "Ooh, with his super-fine ass. Asuka, you've should have gotten his contact number after that match you guys had."

The gall of this girl! Asuka's face burned bright red. "Hazuki! Why did you have to bring that scenario up?"

Hazuki went on without regard, "What a way to go, Asuka. You've lost to a real hot guy! Girl you're practically surrounded by cute guys. Speaking of that, how's your cousin doing? I've heard he won the tournament."

"Hazuki!" Asuka jumped off the park bleachers and charged towards Hazuki. "That's really messed up! Wait until I get my hands on you!"

Hazuki ran off in a fit of laughter. "Ha-ha! C'mon Asuka, you have to admit that Hwoarang's a sexy ass dude. The same can be said about your cousin. Hell, he can topple me too if he wants to. You know what I mean?" She lead the older girl around both basketball goals a number of times and back towards the bleachers.

"I'm going to hurt you, Hazuki!" Asuka declared.

"Yea, you can say that all you want but you gotta catch me first." The younger girl giggled. "I'm one of the fastest girls on the track team. Have you forgotten about that?"

Asuka frowned. They were both on the opposite ends of the bleachers. Catching the younger girl was going to be very difficult. "Damn… You play too much."

"You sound just like my little brother just now," Hazuki confirmed with an infuriating grin on her face. "Ken has a hard time catching me as well."

"I give up," Asuka resigned her pursuit and sat on the bleachers. "Anyway, me loosing to Hwoarang isn't a big deal. After all, despite all of his brashness, he's a tough son of a bitch. On top of that, he told me that he actually fought Feng-Wei."

Hazuki gasped in amazement. "Really?"

Asuka replied with a serious nod of her head. "He said… he told me that Feng's a dangerous man. It wasn't an official match. They fought toe-to-toe for a long time but their battle was interrupted." She bit her lip again, comprehending the situation. The Korean warrior was able to fight Feng-Wei to a standstill for a long period of time. Could it be that Hwoarang is stronger than her father? Satoshi Kazama was crippled by this man. Hwoarang, on the other hand, is still in one piece and not in the least bit harmed.

Hazuki cut through Asuka's train of thought. "What happened during their fight?"

"Hwoarang was apprehended by the Korean Army and Interpol is still hot on Feng-Wei's trail." Asuka gazed at the sky as if she was questioning it why was it so blue today. "This is unbelievable. If Hwoarang managed to defeat that man, then he would have indirectly avenged my dad."

"How did they end up fighting anyway?"

"The bastard challenged Hwoarang at a subway in Kyoto," replied Asuka.

"They fought at the Metro subway or the Old Capital subway?" Hazuki wondered.

"No, they fought at a Subway restaurant in Kyoto." Asuka remarked bluntly.

"Oh, THE Subway," Hazuki acknowledged.

"Right, Hwoarang was ordering a foot-long Italian BMT sandwich and the next thing he knew, Feng-Wei appeared and challenged him." Asuka narrated with a frown, finding the said scenario unintentionally humorous.

"That's crazy," Hazuki wanted to laugh but she didn't. "How can they fight in such a small space?" She noticed that Asuka narrowed her eyes in dismay. "Um... Asuka?"

"It's a bunch of bull!" Asuka snapped in anger. "That's bull like Chicago basketball! Hwoarang's lying! He's gotta be lying to me!"

"Don't let that get to you, Asuka." Hazuki urged. "A lot of hot guys lie. Hell, lying comes with the territory of being a male."

"There's no way Hwoarang's stronger than my dad!" Asuka was seething with rage now. "He's lying! Why did he have to lie to me?"

Hazuki observed her friend's behavior with keen interest. Never in her life have she known anyone that can easily get under Asuka's skin. _If I'm not mistaken, Asuka may have developed __feelings for this guy. All this anger because she thinks he's lying to her. She will definitely deny that she's falling for him._

"Why Hazuki," Asuka beseeched. "Why would he lie to me?"

Hazuki displayed a very burlesque expression. "Because the truth hurts, and nobody likes pain."

Asuka's cell phone started vibrating suddenly. "Who's this texting me?" Upon reading her text, her eyes went wide in surprise. "What in the world?"

Hazuki was immediately besides Asuka in wonderment. "What is it? Is it another chain text?"

Asuka was at a loss of words.

The text message read: _**Beware, Asuka Kazama, for I, **__**Lili Rochefort has finally returned to Osaka.**_

**TEKKEN**

"RRRAAARGGH!" Paul charged at his opponent with his signature move. "Phoenix Smasher!"

"Ngh! Nice execution, Paul." Marshall Law blocked against the offending blow. "Good technique as usual, but try not to be too predictable with your methods."

"Bullshit," Paul rushed at Law again. "I patented the Death Fist to perfection in over twenty plus years! I'm not called 'The Toughest in the Universe' for nothing."

"Paul, that's your self-proclaimed name and you know it," Law remarked with an attack of his own. "Let's see can you stand against this attack: Dragon Canon!"

The referee of this fight, King the luchador, held up a sign. **"Honestly, you guys sound like voice samples straight out of a 2D combat video game."**

"You can go to hell, masked man." Paul grinned. "How in the hell can you compare this epic fight to a video game any-got-damn-way?"

King had another sign, **"I'm just saying… are you guys paying any attention to what you're saying?"**

"Don't worry about the dialog, King," Law instructed. "Just keep up with the match and keep a score on the points we have."

King growled and he showed another sign. **"I stand corrected."**

"C'mon! Let's get this show on the road!" Paul roared and engaged Law in close quarters combat. Paul delivered a high roundhouse kick with his right foot but Marshall swayed from the attack. Paul followed up his assault with a left elbow strike and then delivered a power punch. Marshall defended his abdomen with both of his arms. He knew Paul's Juggernaut combination would knock the wind out of him.

Law back-stepped from Paul, giving decent space between them. "I see that you're becoming a little bit less predictable than you were just now." The Jeet Kune Do zealot moved onto the offensive and delivered an inward spinning kick with his right leg and followed up with and reverse back kick with his left. Paul ducked the right kick and he barely managed to guard against the left kick.

"I think you've just knocked off a few strands of my hair just now," Paul grunted with a time out gesture. "C'mon man, you can't be messing with my bad-ass hair. What are you, senile?"

"Paul... man, you had that hairstyle since 1972." Law remarked in annoyance. "You even managed to play high school football with that damn hair. It's been over thirty years, if time can't impair that hair of yours then what in the hell made you think that I can."

"Correction: I had my hair like this since 73," Paul relayed proudly.

"**Same Difference,"** read King's sign.

"Agreed." Law nodded.

"To hell with both of ya guys. This is just as annoying as that time when Kazuya was making fun of my hair when we first fought. And the funny thing is that he's one to joke about about someone's hair. Not with that funky spiky hair of his. The sonovabitch looks like he was struck by lightning."

That damn Paul. There's an old saying that states that when you speak of the devil he will surely soon appear. Someone was knocking on the gym's double doors. "I'll get that," Law announced.

"Why did you locked the doors in the first place?" Paul said to his longtime friend.

"I didn't," the Bruce Lee reincarnation replied as he reached the door. "Who is it?"

"I would like to apply for the dojo," returned a male's voice. He sounded young.

Good news! Another prospective disciple of the dojo, more cash in Law's pocket. "Of course! Do come in." Law practically shined as he opened the door for the visitor. Once he did however, clear skies quickly became overcast with a 60 percent chance of a lightning storm.

"Aw shit..." the utter from Law was enough to put both Paul and King on edge.

"Well?"

"**Who is it?"**

Law looked as though he had tasted some very bitter cough medicine. He backed from the entrance and in came three G Corp soldiers and Kazuya Mishima. Kazuya patted the youngest of the soldiers on the shoulder. "You did well. Your skills with deception will grant you a very promising career with us." The young trooper saluted and took a step aside to let his superior through. "Ah, good afternoon gentlemen."

"What the hell do you want, Mishima?" Law demanded as he sized up Kazuya and his cronies. Kazuya, Paul, and himself were all very well in their fifties but at the moment they were all as tense as school yard brutes.

Kazuya feigned innocence, "No need for animosity, Marshall. We're all old friends here."

Paul was the only one smiling. "Kazuya, what the hell man? I thought that you were dead again and you didn't even invite me to the funeral. My feelings are hurt ya know."

Law, King, and even the three G Corp grunts snorted. Kazuya grimaced, "Your feelings will be the last thing that you have to worry about being hurt."

Paul didn't gave a damn. "C'mon man, it's the first time we've been face to face in well over twenty years. You could at least take a joke. We're all old friends, remember?"

". Life." Kazuya grunted with murderous intent.

"No thanks, no dark secrets and childhood trauma here," Paul nodded indifferently."Unlike your father, mine was a pretty cool guy. Took me out to ball games, bowling alleys, and introduced me to porn when I was twelve."

"No wonder you're an idiot," Kazuya himself was smiling now. "All those years of pornography took a toll on your common sense."

Paul crossed the line. "Funny, your mother had a helping hand in draining my common sense as well."

"That does it! I'm killing him now!" Kazuya was about to rush Paul but Law blocked his warpath as King was now guarding the now hyped Paul. The troopers now had their assault rifles trained on them.

"Got-damn it, Mishima! What is the meaning of this?" Law growled, trembling with Jeet Kune Do fury. "What do you want? Tell us already."

Kazuya regained his composure. "Very well," he signaled his troopers to lower their weapons. "There will be a new King of Iron Fist Tournament soon. You three are invited, of course." His left eye even gleamed with malice.

"It all sounds good to me. A sixth Iron Fist tournament to go all out in," the announcement was the highlight of Paul's day. "What is the Mishima Zaibatsu up to this time around?"

"I'm going to destroy it," Kazuya spat darkly. "I'm going to put an end to the Zaibatsu and everything that it ever stood for. I will personally see to it that Heihachi Mishima dies this time and I will run my pathetic son into the ground."

Kazuya's intent to annihilate the Zaibatsu came as a surprise to them. "You want to wreak havoc on the Zaibatsu? Damn, sounds like trouble in paradise if you ask me." Paul tsked. "Man, hard times all over."

Law was surely up for another tournament. He needed the money. "When does the new tournament start?"

"Two months from today," said Kazuya as he crossed his arms. "Until then, I would like to show you something that may be of interest to you." He fished inside his vest pocket and took out three photographs. "You already know my son, then again, you may also know who the other two individuals are."

It was a picture of Jin Kazama, Eddy Gordo, and Asuka Kazama. "Of course we know them," Paul confirmed. "The guy who looks like a rugged version of Jamie Foxx is a Capoeria expert and the cute little girl is your niece. She was in the last tournament."

"Tch. That child is no relative of mine," sneered Kazuya.

King nodded. **" Gordo and the young Kazama woman, huh? What do they have to do with anything?"**

"As you may be already aware of the bounty on my son's head..." Kazuya paused to let the information sink into his adversaries. "I've placed a bounty on Gordo and that child as well. I will reward you handsomely if you can bring them to me."

"Why?" Law didn't like any of this. He has known Kazuya for well over thirty years. He never guessed that Kazuya would put a hit out on people. If anything, Kazuya was the type to handle things by himself. "Gordo has enough problems on his own to deal with and Asuka's an innocent."

"Gordo is my son's best friend and right hand man in this war. Kazama is his closest living kin," the devil eyed megalomaniac informed. "They are collateral essentials for tipping the scales in our favor and to ultimately win the war against my son."

"Say it in layman's term, jack." Paul grunted.

Kazuya sighed in annoyance. "They can lead me right to Jin Kazama."

Law, Paul, and King could only stare at Kazuya with a sense of dread. It was official: Kazuya was frustrated.

**TEKKEN**

"_Oh man... You were a lot stronger than I thought." Asuka gave a sheepish giggle as she knelt beside Lili's laid out body. "It looks like I may have underestimated you." A pang was felt on her left arm. "Uh... you... made sure that it wasn't an easy win for me."_

_Lili shifted and let out a sound of pain. "Ki... ugh... that last kick of yours... Ow... it really hurts." She tried to roll to her side but that didn't help much. The movement only seem to worsen the pain she felt. "Cripes, my ribs are in pain..."_

"_Hey now, don't you try to move around on your own just yet." Asuka suggested to the younger girl. "This match is over. You should rest until a medic arrives."_

"_I... I have a... request before the officials get here," Lili managed between hard breaths._

_The older fighter was willing to help."Sure, fire away."_

"_Help me make way to that bench over there," Lili pointed to a lone park bench that was a few yards away. "I can... rest there until then."_

"_Okay. I gonna need you to prop yourself against me for support," Asuka instructed. Lili managed coil her left arm around Asuka's shoulders while wincing in pain. Then she allowed the older girl to help gather herself onto her feet by elevating themselves slowly. "That's good. We're on the same wavelength now."_

_Lili silently cursed despite Asuka's attempt at light humor. "I think that my ribs are broken. I never would- Gah! Let's not move so fast!"_

"_Sorry about that," Asuka shuffled. With her arm bruised from their fight, helping Lili to the bench is harder than she thought. "You're a tad heavier than you look."_

_Lili blushed. "That was... tch!... not funny."_

"_Didn't mean for it to be an insult," Asuka reassured. "You're pretty cool and ladylike, I never would have guess that you would be a fighter. How long have you've been training? Who was your mentor?"_

_Lili's words surprised her."Hmm... I've been fighting a little over three years now. I never had a trainer before. I began training myself after an incident when I was fourteen." The pair made it to the bench and slowly sat themselves down. "Thank you."_

"_Wait? You're only seventeen?" Asuka was astounded. The older girl discovered that... she was older. "I honestly thought that you were at least in your early twenties."_

"_I do get that a lot," said the woman-child._

"_Girl, you're younger than I am." Asuka revealed, much to Lili's surprise. "Who would have thought..."_

"_Oh... I see," the Monegasque knockout contemplated. She was a few inches shy of being six feet tall and she towered noticeably over Asuka. Because of that she thought that Asuka was the younger fighter. Then again... rather than growing taller it seemed Asuka grew out. I slight wave of envy struck her when she noticed the older girl's chest. "Well, I guess I'm out of the tournament, huh?"_

_Asuka nodded a bit sadly, she never thought that she would meet a new friend in this tourney. "Almost would have been me," she replied. "You were pretty amazing. You've only been training yourself for a few years and yet you gave me a struggle in our match. I've been training under my parents my entire life. You're pretty much a natural fighter." She took note that the younger girl employed a hybrid style of fighting that comprised of shoot-fighting, ballet, and quite possible a very acrobatic form of Wushu._

_Lili appreciated the compliment but there was something that was putting her in a blue mood. "I have never lost a fight before today. It all feels so strange."_

_Ah, the taste of defeat hurts as much as the truth. "Whatever doesn't kill ya only makes ya stronger I guess." Asuka supplied._

_Lili made the older girl gasp when she suddenly stared at her with a sharp look. "Asuka Kazama, tell me, what do you fight for?"_

_Asuka recomposed herself as a serious expression formed on her face. "I am here to avenge my father. He has been hospitalized by a man in this tournament that goes by the name of Feng Wei."_

_Lili uttered, "You're here to avenge your father." She looked away from the older girl. "You have a far better reason to be here than I do then."_

"_What do you mean, Lili?"_

_Lili fiddled with the bangs of her long hime-styled hair ruefully. "Ah... you could say that I'm a fighting junkie. I'm pretty much in this tournament for the hell of it. Well... I was in the tournament."_

_Asuka understood where Lili was coming from. "Ah ha... Combat high."_

_Lili cursed herself in French, realizing something. "Yea, that's the thing. My father forbade me to enter any tournaments. Ever since that fateful day three years ago, my father noticed my ever growing interest in combat. He said that I was obsessed with fighting and even deemed me a dangerous individual. You could say that I was becoming a ruffian in his eyes."_

"_So that means that he doesn't know about you being in the tournament." Asuka assessed her would be rival's story. _

"_Yep, that's my sap story." Lili sighed, trying in vain (and pain) to cross her well formed legs. "Ooh, it's Emilie Rochefort, beloved daughter of Derek Rochefort. Everyone expects me to be Father's spoiled little princess. Winning beauty pageants and turning down hand picked suitors for engagement aren't my thing. If anything, being kidnapped was a blessing in disguise."_

_Listening to Lili's sardonic take on her lifestyle, Asuka noticed that the Monegasque angel was far darker than what meets the eye. If anything, Lili reminded her of her younger sister, Saeko, whom was just as sarcastic. "Oh... kay..."_

"_Oh well, it looks like I'm heading home after the medics examine my injuries." She caught a cherry blossom petal. Oh wow. "You know what? We should become rivals. It's the only way we both can become stronger."_

_What in the world did Lili just said? "Excuse me. You want us to become rivals?"_

"_Yeah. Why not?" Lili nodded. "You're the only person to defeat me in battle. Maybe we can learn from this experience. I mean- oh?"_

_Asuka had placed her hand on the younger girl's forehead. "You're not running a fever. Maybe I have kicked your head pretty hard."_

"_You haven't kick me in the head at all," Lili remarked, which was a painful reminder that her ribs may be broken. "You punched me in the shoulders, delivered hits to my midsection, and I was caught in a few of your take-downs."_

"_Wow. You are a fighter." Asuka remarked, impressed. "You were keeping track of our fight better than I was."_

"_Okay then, it's settled. From now on we are rivals," Lili announced with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "The next time we meet, it may be you that's going to need medical attention, cow-tits."_

_Asuka gasped in horror, clearly affronted by Lili's remark. "Hey! My sister calls me that. I can't stand that nickname."_

"_Oh ho! You don't like anyone to jibe on your tig-o-bitties, eh?" Lili sealed her fate as Asuka's sub nemesis. "You are one interesting rival."_

_Asuka played along. Although Lili may be the bratty daughter of a wealthy oil tycoon who seems to be way too delicate to do such a thing as street fighting, she had to admit that the young inheritrix was far tougher than any brute that she has ever faced. "Watch yourself, Little Miss Thunder Thighs, would you like a well whupped ass with those bruised ribs?"_

"_Ah, good comeback," Lili acknowledged as a few tournament medics made it onto the scene. "This may be the beginning of a beautiful rivalry."_

Lili chuckled to herself at the memory of that fateful day. Over half a year ago she had her first taste of defeat at a beautiful city park in Osaka. Here she was, back in the nation's second largest city... Or was it the third largest? Oh well, she couldn't remember.

"Here's your order miss." A diner waitress appeared with a hot plate. "Strawberry waffles with eggs and green tea." She placed the breakfast platter on the table and bowed. "Please enjoy your meal."

"Thank you very much," Lili returned the gesture. "I certainly will." The waitress went on to get another customer's order. _Okay, it's time to eat up. I haven't eaten anything since I've arrived here yesterday. _Just as she was about to indulge herself with strawberry goodness, she noticed an oddly familiar fellow that was sitting at the bar. The stranger was lean, yet muscular and his hair was red. He wore a sleeveless black wife-beater and dark blue jeans. Lili stared at this man hard- not because he was very attractive to her, but she had a feeling that she met him before.

_Hmm... Could that be, _Lili wondered as a small smile graced her lips. _I wonder..._

Sure enough, the heiress called out to him, "Pssst!"

The red haired man looked up from his mug of coffee and glanced around the diner. There weren't that many people in the diner: himself, a trucker, an elder couple, a native teenage girl, and two foreigners. The first foreigner was a man with a low crew cut, possibly military. The second foreigner, however...

"Pssst!"

The second foreigner was pretty smoking hot! The traveller was an attractive little number with blueish gray eyes and long blonde hair that was in hime style. The knockout was rocking a blue polo outfit with red trimmings and the skirt of it showed off her impressive legs. The redhead wondered if the blonde was beckoning for his attention. He tried his best not to gawk at the pulchritudinous stranger. He made a gesture at himself that says, "Who? Me?"

Lili practically beamed at the man. She remember who he was now. It's a small world. She nodded at him and said, "Yeah. Come on over here and have a seat with me."

_You don't have to tell me twice. _He gathered his coffee mug and newspaper and started his way towards the heavenly woman. He was so charmed by her that he didn't noticed that he was walking directly into the local girl. "Oof!" The said girl grunted as she landed on her butt when she hit the floor.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry about that," Hwoarang apologized, as he went to help the girl off the cool linoleum floor. "I should have been paying attention." He gather the girl's backpack and helped her to her feet. The young woman wore a red button down blouse along with a black denim miniskirt. She hairstyle was rather cute, the dark locks were messy... pretty much in the vein of Oerba Yung Fang or Kaoru Tanamachi's style. "Just be thankful that this hot coffee didn't spilled on any of us."

The girl looked into his eyes with a grateful smile. "Thank you, sir. I was a bit out of it too." She gave him a bow and made her way out of the diner.

"That was pretty chivalrous of you." Lili chimed with a grin. "I think that little incident with you made her day."

"Whatever." Hwoarang took a sat at the table. "So, what's going on? I'm having a sense of_ deja vu _like a motherfucker. Care to explain?"

"Emilie De Rochefort," she revealed to him. "I've participated in the Iron Fist tournament. Does it ring any bells?"

After a brief pause recognition soon dawned on his face. "Oh! Right... you defeated Wang Jinrei and kicked Ganryu's ass during the tournament. What's up? The name's Hwoarang. People that have a hard time pronouncing my name simply call me Wayne... or Bob. Anyway,what brings you back to Osaka?"

"School," Lili remarked lamely. "I moved into a condo last night."

"Cool. How's everything going back in... Greece... uh... Italy?" Hwoarang frown in consternation. He couldn't remember where she was from for shit. "France?"

"Monaco," Lili confirmed and took a sip of her tea. "You were close."

"Yeah, that's right." He replied a tad awkwardly. He couldn't believe he forgot where she was from, as fine as she was. He must be slippin' in his old age. The waitress approached the table and handed him his bill. "Okay. Those three mugs of coffee were good. Definitely worth it. I'm gonna tip ya extra today."

The waitress blushed. "I brewed it myself. Of course it's good."

"Wow. Three mugs of coffee?" Lili giggled as Hwoarang shuffled through his pockets. "You're guzzling down coffee like an old man."

"I've only been here for a few months and I'm have yet to get used to the Japanese timezone," Hwoarang relayed as he was going through his back pocket now. "That's odd. I made sure that I was carrying my wallet with me. I never in my life would forget to bring money along."

"Would you like me to pay your bill?" Lili suggested. "Maybe you left it at your place."

"Nah, I'm absolutely certain that I have my wallet on me... that is... unless..." Hwoarang suddenly jolted in his seat with a look of pure shock. Putting two and two together, he came up with a conclusion: the girl he bumped into. "Sweet Youkai Jesus..."

That messy haired broad had skills.

"What is it?" The waitress and Lili said simultaneously.

"The girl in the red and black..." he grounded out dangerously.

Lili said a French curse word and said, "Whoa! You really did made that girl's day."

Hwoarang inhaled his breath for a long time and then... "F... FFF... FFFFUUUUUUU..."

Anybody that was within a mile radius of the diner could hear the obscenities of a pissed off Korean ex-soldier.

**END OF THE PROLOGUE**

**NEXT TIME: Chapter One -Ambitions **

**NOTE: **Oh well. My little vacation's around the corner. Hopefully I can post some other new/previously abandoned fanfics on the web pretty soon. Final Fantasy XIII, Umineko, and I even wrote a draft for K-ON that's now rotting on an old flash drive. Shoot, I have a lot of work cut out for me


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